Here’s a new map of the Barceló Maya Grand Resort with the addition of the new adults-only section (Barceló Maya Riviera) which is scheduled to open Dec. 2019. 850 rooms, four pools, five restaurants, five bars, a new convention center, plus access to the rest of the entire resort. I’m going late Feb. 2020 and staying in a swim-up suite–can’t wait to see it and the rest of this great resort. I have my favorite hangouts which I discovered on my trip here July 2018, and looking forward to adding more favorites to my list!
Adults-only section on the far right next to the Beach resort
Hello,
We are traveling to the resort in March 2021. I am traveling with my 13 year old son. We are looking for a quiet room close to the beach. Which section of rooms would you suggest? Also, how did you like the resort? What advice do you have?
Wendy: I have been to this megaresort twice, once in 2018 staying at both the Caribe and Palace sections, and once in 2020 at the new adults-only section. If you want a room closest to the beach at the non-adults only sections, that would require upgrading to the Premium level at the Palace. Only at the new adults-only section can one get a room really close to the beach at this megaresort. I love this resort and wouldn’t hesitate to return. It has a lot to offer; your 13 yr old son may enjoy the FlowRider at the Colonial, the water sports equipment, plus if you enjoy snorkeling you can see sea turtles at the Palace plus lots of fish off the Colonial pier. I wrote a resort review about this resort as a whole (minus the adults-only section, that is a separate review)–type in Barcelo Maya Grand resort review in the search bar on my home page, or go to the resort review section under Riviera Maya and you will see my resort reviews there. Let me know if you have any other questions. Oh, by the way, there is a website devoted to this resort called unofficial-barcelo-maya.com, it is very informative. Have a great vacation!
Thank you so much for your quick reply!! We are booked at the Maya Beach”. I did quite a bit of research and found that the adults only is the most recently built section (1.5 years ago) followed by our section (built 2.5 years ago). I researched about 20 web sites and found the building names in our section: Sayel, Labna, Uxmal, Coba and Tulum. I was trying to figure out which rooms past vacationers recommended in those buildings-any tips? Although bringing a teen we prefer peace and quiet. Again, looking for a quiet, jungle facing room with quick access to the beach. Per your comments, I have read that the Palace is the closest to the beach, best food (of the five resorts) and most amenities. The price was significantly more so we settled on the Maya Beach. I will check out the web site you recommended.
Since I didn’t stay at the Beach section I don’t know the specific building names. However, if you sign up to view forum material at the Unofficial-Barcelo-Maya.com website, you can ask questions there and will most likely get very specific info which you are looking for. It doesn’t cost anything to join as far as I know, you just sign up and will get the opportunity to ask questions that way.
Hi we just returned from the Riviera. Really liked the resort but was wondering what section the Premier ocean front Jr suites are located. Our room was 3775 and I am now thinking we should have been in the last section by the beach. If someone coule let me know that would be great.
Thanks
Gail
Gail: There is no guarantee on the Barcelo website that your room category is located in the building in which you were placed. This mega-resort has a wider viewpoint of what constitutes “oceanfront”. Of course, you can always contact Barcelo to lodge a complaint; I hope that, regardless of room location, you had a pleasant stay. FYI: I’ve found over the years that directly booking with a resort will get you a better room location.
We are looking at this Mega resort, and are interested in the Palace side staying in July 2021. It looks like the pool view rooms are the darker buildings on your map? Or would you recommend the ocean view one? Also how “walkable” is it from one side to the other, or do they offer golf carts, etc to explore? Thanks! Where can I find out what attractions are “closed” due to Covid? We don’t want to be disappointed, as I have read some reviews on other sites where it sounds like many fun attractions were closed…
Hello Tracy: There are basically two guest room buildings at the Palace, Oaxaca and Michoacan. Oaxaca offers some rooms closer to the beach; I had a Premium Level Jr. Suite Pool View and the room was located by the pool but only had a sliver of an ocean view. There is a beachfront walkway and one can clearly see from that walkway that some of the balconies in the Oaxaca building have pretty good ocean views. One of the “cons” of this resort as a whole is one of true “ocean view” rooms, there are not that many except now with the new adults-only Maya Riviera section. If ocean view is important you can always request the Oaxaca building, but a request is not a guarantee. You may be getting a better ocean view if you upgrade to an OCEANFRONT suite instead of a Jr. Suite. From one resort end to the other it’s only walkable if you take the beachfront walkway. The main resort walkway from the Tropical to the Palace alone is 20+ min., not really doable unless you want some exercise. And why not get that looking at the ocean, lol? There are typically buses that take guests to the various resorts with the place to change buses over at the mall by the Caribe, but I imagine with an orange epidemiological light those buses are not running. Attractions are more likely to be closed due to the orange epidemiological light, they opened with the prior yellow light, even Chichen Itza and the parks. They were closed with the orange light. It’s a risk; if you travel there when it’s still an orange light, most likely attractions will be temporarily closed. I hope this response has been helpful; I wrote a resort review which includes a lot of pics on this entire resort (plus another separate one on the adults-only resort); I believe its title starts out something like “Easier to Get Around Than I Thought…..Have a great trip if you decide to go!!
Wondering how far of a walk is it from the Adult Only to the palace? We are going next month and some of the group wants to stay at the palace and other’s want to upgrade to Palace? What is your thoughts. Thanks
There are two ways to walk from the AO to the Palace. The lengthier way is to take the main walkway (closer to the main road) from end to end. It will take you at least 20 min. to walk just from the Tropical to the Palace entrance. Take the beach walkway from end to end. At a moderate pace it would take you approximately 25-30 min. to walk from resort to resort. Plus its very scenic with the ocean on one side. Be aware that Palace guests cannot access the AO (I believe you can pay extra to eat at some a la cartes), but AO guests have access to the Palace. Have a great trip!!
Is there a nightclub in the Tropical? and are the 4 older resorts closer to the beach?
The main nightclub is over at the Colonial, actually it is basically across the street from the mall at the Caribe. The closest rooms to the beach are at the adults-only Barcelo Maya Riviera. At the older resorts, I’d say the rooms closest to the beach are the Premium rooms at the Palace.